wildlifeThe Wel­ling­tonista has been going for a while now, yet there does not seem to be any men­tion of that unique Wel­ling­ton insti­tu­tion, the Karori Wild­life Sanc­tu­ary, a large fenced-off and pred­at­or-free “island” in a val­ley beside Karori. We must apo­lo­gise for this lapse.

And make up for it by sug­gest­ing an out­ing this week­end. For Sat­urday is Liz­ard Day, one of a series of Sat­urday events at the Sanc­tu­ary (next ones are Pest Day on 24 Septem­ber and Frog Day on 29 Octo­ber). It’s meant to be a bit of a fam­ily out­ing where you can find out more about those cute wee beast­ies that live in your rock gar­dens and shrub­ber­ies. But don’t worry: the Sanc­tu­ary people will be bring­ing some along for you to see up close for your­self in case you don’t spot any in the wild.

We’d love to catch sight of a Har­le­quin Gecko, but as it’s not nat­ive to Wel­ling­ton it’s rather unlikely. How­ever, the very spec­tac­u­lar-when-seen-by-dim-forest-light Wel­ling­ton Green Gecko should def­in­itely be on the cards. Accord­ing to the Sanc­tu­ary people, “talks will be held in the Her­it­age Area between 11am and 2pm [and] there will also be oth­er fun activ­it­ies hap­pen­ing for kids”.

So, truck up and have a look. And while you are vis­it­ing, become a mem­ber. That way, you get free entry for the year and a good green vibe thing going on.